ARCHIVE

The Checkerboard mailbox has overflowed with items from 99th veterans across the nation . . . all on the same subject: the myth of the Mississippi Massacre.

You saw the story in dozens of metro-newspapers across the nation.

The Army has tried to put to rest all the allegations of the 1943 "slaughter" of black troops at Camp Van Dorn, MS. But, nobody seems to pay attention. Though the story is false, some people seek avenues to make it seem true.

The Washington Post reconstructed it, more than 50 years later, trying to prove or disprove the story: that 1,200 black soldiers were massacred.

No hard evidence could be found.

Every man who served in the 364th Infantry Regiment at Camp Van Dorn in 1943 has been accounted for. None are missing.

99th members sent dozens of clippings, from many newspapers, virtually all came to the same conclusion: there was no slaughter.

It was all based on a book, "An American Atrocity," by Carroll Case. The Army says the book is "fiction."

The problem is that some people continue to contend that it's true. They seem to want to believe it.

99th veterans who were stationed at Camp Van Dorn during that time say there is no basis for the story. "It didn't happen."